OxBlue sat down with Suffolk's Director of Emerging Technologies, Joshua Weyand, to learn how the team is using artificial intelligence and visual data to make their jobsites safer, more efficient and cost effective.
Q1: Can you explain your role at Suffolk?
As Director of Emerging Technologies, I find and implement technology solutions for our project teams throughout the country. I spend a considerable amount of time meeting with our operations staff, formally and informally, to learn about pain points in the construction process.
I take that knowledge, and regularly meet with technology companies and startups to continually expand our toolbox of new, innovative and cutting-edge technology and data solutions.
I work with our project teams to identify challenges, explore solutions to address them, and then equip our teams with the tools they need to build in a safer, more efficient and cost-effective way.
Q2: What are the top three things you’re looking for in new technology?
We look for several things, which you could categorize into three buckets: product experience, operational efficiency and scalability.
Product experience is important for the end user. The user interface (UI) needs to be accessible for all professionals – easy to navigate, intuitive and responsive.
Operational efficiency is achieved when a product adds value to the jobsite. Suffolk is a leader in contech investments, and part of that is because of our due diligence in ensuring that our chosen solutions can make our projects safer, more efficient and cost effective.
There are two ways of looking at scalability. With 12 Suffolk offices throughout the country, we need to ensure our investments provide value on the majority of our jobsites. It’s equally important that the companies we partner with share our attitude towards innovation. Artificial intelligence (AI) continues to evolve and change our industry, and integration will be increasingly important over the next few years.
Q3: When did you first get introduced to OxBlue or a similar technology in general?
I previously used OxBlue earlier in my career and was excited to learn that Suffolk was an early adopter. Data and technology have always been a passion of mine, and when I learned that Suffolk has an in-house team of 50 data, innovation and digital engineering analysts, I was instantly sold on joining the team. I’m proud that my coworkers and I share the same drive to push our industry forward by adopting innovative technologies.
Q4: Would you say that cameras are still currently considered innovative tools?
Yes. Cameras provide a practical medium to enable visual data capture. However, the leveraging of visual data is the truly innovative piece and that’s especially true when you think of AI integration. AI can consume vast amounts of visual data in a very short period. Suffolk has an ambitious goal to change the way buildings are planned, designed and built, and to transform the construction industry. Technology, robotics and data solutions that integrate AI are only beginning to scratch the surface of what’s possible, and we are going to see amazing advancements in capabilities in a short timeframe.
Q5: How do you use a construction camera alongside digital tools?
Construction cameras, and other similar tools, can be used in tandem with data solutions to create a more collaborative construction industry that is less siloed between parties. Our goal is to utilize AI to access data from decades of construction to create proactive and predictive modeling that will lead to more informed decisions. The more data we can feed into our existing data lake, the more efficient and accurate these models will become.
Q6: What do you find most useful about OxBlue’s AI capabilities?
This has been especially helpful on the safety front. We have an incredibly sophisticated team of safety professionals, but when you have hundreds or even thousands of subcontractors and trade partners working on a large job you need to augment your workforce with technology. OxBlue can quickly scan video footage and let us know if someone isn’t wearing the appropriate PPE. This allows us to properly coach, support, and create alignment from the field in a positive manner. While we can’t be everywhere at once, AI has the ability to support our safety efforts and ensure everyone goes home safe.
Q7: Can you provide some examples of how OxBlue can assist with QA for your team?
Weather is a significant factor on jobsites. For example, when temperatures, wind speeds or humidity are high we know that there could be issues with the adhesive staying in place during roof installation. We take this weather data and can quickly use video footage from OxBlue to see if anything was installed during an inopportune time. This allows us to quickly verify the quality of our work and allocate resources efficiently.
Q8: Do you think time-lapses are still useful?
Time-lapses show you the project lifecycle from inception to completion. Our clients and trade partners love seeing a summary of what can often be up to two years of hard work. However, at Suffolk, we don’t walk away when a job’s complete and quickly move on to the next one. We want to study what went right and what we could have done better. We use our unique experiences and data to inform our future decisions so that each project is more efficient than the last.
Q9: Is there anything else you think people should know about having a construction camera on their jobsite?
Construction cameras allow us to have insight into jobsites throughout the country, something that wasn’t possible before. We are working diligently to continually push the boundaries of what’s possible by leveraging AI to increase efficiency, productivity and predictability on jobsites.
